Assessment of changes in the emotional state of HIV-infected patients during the development of the coronavirus epidemic

Objective. To investigate the dynamics of self-assessments for the emotional state in HIV-infected patients and to assess behavioral strategies aimed at reducing the stress load. Subjects and methods. The investigation was conducted using the questionnaire method. Group 1 included 79 HIVinfected patients who were interviewed on May 21 to June 15, 2020; Group 2 consisted of 81 respondents who were interviewed on October 16 to November 27, 2020. The authors studied the dynamics of self-assessments of a risk for coronavirus infection and the emotional state of the respondents, changes in behavioral strategies aimed at reducing the level of stress due to coronavirus infection (COVID-19). The findings were assessed using the content analysis method. Results. The respondents most often rated their risk for COVID-19 as the same as for most people (72.4 and 76.5% in Groups 1 and 2, respectively). The proportion of respondents denying the risk of infection decreased (18.9 and 12.3%, respectively), while that of respondents rating it as high increased (5 and 7.4%). The denial of anxiety due to COVID-19 decreased from 51.9% to 44.4% over time, with an increase in the proportion of respondents who reported frequent feelings of anxiety (3.8 and 6.2%). The answer «I feel anxiety almost all the time» was recorded for the f irst time in Group 2 (2.5%). The median scores of the Emotions Self-Assessment Scale were 9.0 [5.0; 8.0] in Group 1 and 7.0[5.0; 10.0] in Group 2 (p = 0.02). The self-rating of 5scores and the lower scores on the visual analogue scale were recorded in 25.52 and 30% of cases in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. The cumulative content of anxiety reduction techniques by the groups was 66 and 99 units, respectively. Individual ways of maintaining the mental ecology prevailed. Group 2 showed a statistically significant decrease in the role of religion and religious rites in reducing the anxiety of respondents, as well as the importance of limiting unreliable information about the coronavirus, the use of only reliable information sources were noted for the first time; there were also descriptions of maladaptive behaviors (excessive eating, drinking, smoking), but their share was low (4.9%). Sleep and rest as ways to reduce anxiety and stress were relevant only in Group 2. Conclusion. The HIV-infected respondents exhibited an increasing level of COVID-19 epidemic-induced emotional distress (negative emotional coloring of the situation, lack of adaptive methods for reducing anxiety/stress), which should be taken into account when consulting during the pandemic and future vaccination campaigns for people living with HIV.

HIV infection, coronavirus infection, COVID-19, emotional state